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Spains Empire in
the Americas
Terms & Names

WHY IT MATTERS NOW

MAIN IDEA
Throughout the 1500s and
1600s, the Spanish
conquered Central and
portions of North America.

Spanish language, religion, and

architecture continues to
influence the Americas.

Hernndo Corts Juan Ponce

conquistador
de Len
New Spain
New Mexico
mestizo
Pop
encomienda

One American's Story

In 1519, the native world near Tabasco in southeastern Mexico

changed forever. That year, Hernndo Corts led an army into
the American mainland, eager to claim new lands for Spain. The
peoples of the Tabasco, a province of the mighty Aztec empire,
resisted the invaders but were no match for the Spaniards rifles
and cannons.
In surrendering, the natives handed over to the Spaniards 20
women, one of whom came to be called Doa Marina, or
Malinche. Malinche easily mastered the Spanish language and
soon acted as both translator and guide for Corts as he fought
and negotiated his way through Mexico. She also proved to be a
brave and daring warrior. Bernal Daz del Castillo, one of Cortss
foot soldiers, noted Malinches courage.

Malinche (center) translates for

the Spaniards and the Aztec.

A PERSONAL VOICE BERNAL DAZ DEL CASTILLO

Doa Marina . . . possessed such manly valor that, although she had heard every
day how the Indians were going to kill us and eat our flesh with chili, and had
seen us surrounded in the late battles, and knew that all of us were wounded or
sick, yet never allowed us to see any sign of fear in her, only . . . courage.

quoted in Notable Latin American Women

Malinche played a key role in the early stages of the Spanish conquest of the
Americas. As the first European settlers in the Americas, the Spanish greatly
enriched their empire and left a mark on the cultures of North and South America
that still exists today.

The Spanish Claim a New Empire

In the wake of Columbuss voyages, Spanish explorers took to the seas to claim
new colonies for Spain. Lured by the prospect of vast lands filled with gold and
silver, these explorers, known as conquistadors (conquerors), pushed first into

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the Caribbean regionthe islands and coast of Central and

South America along the Caribbean Sea. Then they swept
through Mexico and south to the tip of South America.

Analyzing
Motives
A Why was
Corts interested
in the Aztec
empire?

A. Answer
Corts was
interested in the
territory and
vast wealth of
the Aztec
empire.

B. Answer
The Spaniards
superior
weapons, the
diseases that
accompanied
them, and the
support of other
native peoples.
MAIN IDEA

Summarizing
B What factors
enabled the
Spaniards to
conquer the
Aztec?

CORTS SUBDUES THE AZTEC Soon after landing in

Mexico, Corts learned of the vast and wealthy Mexica, or
HERNNDO CORTS
14851547
Aztec, empire, located deep in the regions interior. The Aztec,
Corts made himself the enemy
members of the diverse Nahua peoples of central Mexico,
of thousands of Native
dominated the region. Corts set off to conquer the Aztec
Americans, but the daring conwith a force of 600 soldiers, 17 horses, numerous dogs, and
quistador had few friends among
10 cannons. As he marched inland, Corts, a gifted diplomat
Spaniards either. Spanish authoras well as military leader, convinced those Nahua who had
ities on Cuba, where Corts
owned land, accused the conlong resented the spread of Aztec power to join his ranks.
quistador of murdering his wife,
After marching for weeks through 200 miles of difficult
Catalina Jurez. There were
mountain passes, Corts and his legions finally looked on
ugly accusations, but none
the magnificent Aztec capital of Tenochtitln. The
proved, wrote Jurezs
Spaniards marveled at Tenochtitln, with its towering
biographer.
In addition, the Cuban
temples and elaborate engineering worksincluding
governor,
Diego Velzquez,
a system that brought fresh water into the city. We
who resented Cortss
were amazed, Bernal Daz said of his first glimpse
arrogance, relieved him
of Tenochtitln. Some of our soldiers even asked
of the command of a
whether the things we saw were not a dream.
gold-seeking expedition
to the mainland. Corts
While the Aztec city astonished the Spaniards,
left Cuba anyway.
the capitals glittering gold stock seemed to hypnotize
As he fought his way
them. They picked up the gold and fingered
through Mexico, Corts
it like monkeys, one Native American witness
had to battle not only the
recalled. They hungered like pigs for that gold. A
Native Americans, but
also the Spanish forces
Convinced at first that Corts was an armor-clad
that Velzquez had sent
god, the Aztec emperor Montezuma agreed to give the
to arrest him.
Spanish explorer a share of the empires existing gold
supply. Corts, who admitted that he and his comrades
had a disease of the heart that only gold can cure,
eventually forced the Aztec to mine more gold and silver. In the spring of 1520,
the Aztec rebelled against the Spaniards intrusion. It is believed that, before
driving out Cortess forces, the Aztec stoned Montezuma to death, having come
to regard him as a traitor.
While they successfully repelled the Spanish invaders, the natives found
they could do little
to stop disease. By the
time Corts launched a
counterattack in 1521,
the Spanish and their
native allies overran an
Aztec force that was
greatly reduced by smallpox and measles. After
several months of fighting, the invaders finally
sacked
and
burned
Tenochtitln, and the
Aztec surrendered. B
A Native American depiction
of Aztec archers battling
Cortss troops

MAIN IDEA

KEY PLAYER

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While flames still flickered in the shattered capital, Corts laid plans for the
colony of New Spain, whose capital he called Mexico City. Within three years,
Spanish churches and homes rose from the foundations of old native temples and
palaces in Mexico City. Cathedrals and a university followed.

SPANISH PATTERN OF CONQUEST In building their new American empire, the

Spaniards drew from techniques used during the reconquest of Spain from the
Moors, a Muslim people from North Africa who had occupied Spain for centuries.
When conquering the Moors in the late 1400s, the Spanish lived
among them and imposed upon them their Spanish culture.
You and your
Spanish settlers in the Americas were mostly men and were
people, . . . entering
known
as peninsulares. Marriage between peninsulares and native
with such speed
women was common. These marriages created a large mestizo
and fury into
or mixed Spanish and Native Americanpopulation. Their
my country, . . .
descendants live today in Mexico, other Latin American counas to strike terror
tries, and the United States.
into our hearts.
Although the Spanish conquerors lived among and intermarried
with the native people, they also oppressed them. In their
NATIVE AMERICAN CHIEF, TO SPANISH
EXPLORER HERNANDO DE SOTO
effort to exploit the land for its precious resources, the Spanish
forced the native workers to labor within a system known as
encomienda, in which the natives farmed, ranched, or mined for Spanish landlords, who had received the rights to their labor from Spanish authorities.
The harsh pattern of labor that emerged under the encomienda caused priests
such as Antonio de Montesinos to demand its end in a sermon delivered in 1511.

A PERSONAL VOICE FRAY ANTONIO DE MONTESINOS

Tell me, by what right or justice do you hold these Indians in such a cruel and
horrible servitude? . . . Why do you keep them so oppressed and exhausted,
without giving them enough to eat or curing them of the sicknesses they incur
from the excessive labor you give them? . . . Are you not bound to love them as
you love yourselves? Dont you understand this? Dont you feel this?
quoted in Reflections, Writing for Columbus

In 1542, the Spanish monarchy, which had tried to encourage fair treatment of native subjects, abolished the encomienda. To meet their intense labor
needs, the Spaniards instead turned to other labor systems and began to use
African slaves. C

C. Answer
They needed
slaves to work
in the mines and
plantations after
the Spanish
monarchy
abolished the
encomienda.
MAIN IDEA

Analyzing
Causes
C Why did the
Spanish begin to
use African slaves
on their plantations
in the New World?

The Conquistadors Push North

Dreaming of new conquests and more gold, and afraid that European nations might
invade their American empire from the north, Spain undertook a series of expeditions into what would become the southeastern and southwestern United States.

EXPLORING FLORIDA In 1513, on Easter Sundaya day the Spaniards called

pascua florida, or feast of flowers explorer Juan Ponce de Len spied a treecovered beach. In honor of the holiday, he named the land La Florida. For almost
five decades, the Spanish probed La Florida and the surrounding areas for gold,
battling the local residents, disease, and starvation. In 1562, discouraged by the
lack of economic success, Spain abandoned further exploration of Florida.
Within months of Spains departure, a band of French settlers arrived near
what is now Jacksonville. Accompanying the settlers were French pirates, or buccaneers, who quickly took interest in Spains treasure-filled ships sailing from the
Gulf of Mexico. Consequently, Spain reversed its decision to abandon Florida and
ordered one of its fiercest warriors, Pedro Menndez de Avils, to drive the French
out of the area.

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CHAPTER 2

Geography
Skillbuilder
Answers
1. Four.
2. English: 1497,
1609, and 1610.
They explored
the east coast
and upper
Canada.
French: 1524
and 153435. In
1673 and 1682,
they explored
parts of Canada
and the midwestern and
southern United
States.

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120W

80N

European Exploration of the Americas, 14921682

GREENLAND

Arctic Circle

ICELAND
H uds o

Hudson
Bay

NORTH
AMERICA

n 1610

n
dso
Hu

9
160

Cabot 1497

ENGLAND

Cartier 153435

La Salle
16791682

FRANCE

Joliet and Marquette

167273

PORTUGAL
DeSoto
153942

Coronado
154042

3
24
154
illo
br

C
N

Santo Domingo

Caribbean Sea

Tenochtitln
(Mexico City)

Pizar
ro
1530
33

Equator

Madeira
Canary
Islands

Verrazzano 1524
Columbu s 1492

CUBA

Veracruz

Cabeza de Vaca
152836
E

o rt

519
s1

ATLANTIC
OCEAN

Hispaniola

Gulf of
Mexico

20N

Azores
Ponce de Lon
151213

Ca

Tropic of Cancer

Santa Fe

SPAIN

95
93
us 1 4
3
C o l u mb
20
150
C o lu m b us

Co
lum
bus

Balboa
151013

14 9

AFRICA

Vespucci 1499

40N

PACIFIC
OCEAN

EUROPE

SOUTH
AMERICA
120W

100W

20W

Spanish
Columbus
French
English
Dutch

0
0

1,000
1,000

2,000 miles

2,000 kilometers

GEOGRAPHY SKILLBUILDER
1. Movement How many voyages to
the Americas did Columbus make?
2. Place In what years did England
and France sail to the Americas and
which regions did they explore?
Juan de la Cosa, pilot-navigator on Columbuss ship Nia, drew the known
world on this oxhide map in 1500.

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Spanish Missions in the Southwest

The missions built by the friars who
accompanied the conquistadors combined
the rich architectural heritage of Spain with
symbols and traditions familiar to their
Native American converts.

Most missions were a series of buildings grouped around

a courtyard, which was used for festivals or services.
These courtyards acknowledged the Native American
practice of worshipping in the open air.

In Texas and California,

bells used to summon people to
worship were often hung in espadaas,
tiered clusters framed by a rounded wall
meant to resemble a cloud. To the Native
Americans of the Southwest, clouds
represented power.

Mission San Miguel,

California

Mission San Luis Rey de Francia,

California

Menndez de Avils not only drove out the French but in 1565 established a
lonely outpost, which he called St. Augustine. It has survived to become the oldest European-founded city in the present-day United States.

SETTLING THE SOUTHWEST In 1540, in search of another wealthy empire to

conquer, Francisco Vsquez de Coronado led the first Spanish expedition into
what is now Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. After wandering for two years, the only precious metal he carried home was his own battered
gold-plated armor.
The Spaniards who followed in Coronados wake came to the Southwest
largely to search for veins of silver ore or to spread the Roman Catholic religion.
As the native population dwindled from disease, Spanish priests gathered the surviving natives into large communities, called congregacines. In the winter of
16091610, Pedro de Peralta, governor of Spains northern holdings, called New
Mexico, led missionary priests and other settlers to a tributary of the upper Rio
Grande. Together they built a capital called Santa Fe, or Holy Faith. In the next
two decades, several Christian missions were built among the Pueblos in the area.
The hooves of pack mules wore down a 1,500-mile trail known as el Camino Real,
or the Royal Road, as they carried goods back and forth between Santa Fe and
Mexico City. D

Resistance to the Spanish

The Catholic missionaries who settled north of Mexico not only tried to
Christianize the peoples they encountered but also attempted to impose Spanish
culture on them. The native inhabitants of New Mexico resisted and eventually
rebelled against the Spaniards attempts to transform their lives and beliefs.

CONFLICT IN NEW MEXICO While Spanish priests converted scores of Native

Americans in New Mexico, tension marked the relationship between the priests
and their new converts. As they sought to transform the Native Americans cultures, Spanish priests and soldiers smashed and burned objects held sacred by

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CHAPTER 2

MAIN IDEA

Analyzing
Motives
D Why did the
Spanish build a
road between
Santa Fe and
Mexico City?

D. Answer
As a means by
which goods
could be transported back and
forth.

Vocabulary
conversion:
A change in which
a person adopts a
new belief,
opinion, or religion

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E. Answer
Because the
settlers had
forced the
Native
Americans to
pay tribute.
Those who
failed to pay this
tribute or who
were caught
practicing their
native religion
were abused
physically.
MAIN IDEA

Analyzing
Causes
E Why did the
Native Americans
of New Mexico
revolt against the
Spanish settlers?

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local communities and suppressed many of their ceremonial dances and rituals.
During the 1670s, priests and soldiers around Santa Fe
began forcing Native Americans to help support the missions by paying a tribute, an offering of either goods or
services. The tribute was usually a bushel of maize or a deer
hide, but the Spanish also forced Native Americans to work
for them and sometimes abused them physically. Native
Americans who practiced their native religion or refused to
pay tribute were beaten.

LD STAGE
W OR
IRELAND
ENGLAND

Armada
battles in
English
Channel
Spanish
fleet

POPS REBELLION One unfortunate Native American

who felt the sting of a Spanish whip was the Pueblo religious leader Pop. The priests punished Pop for his worship
practices, which they interpreted as witchcraft. The whipping left the Pueblo leader scarred with hatred and ready for
rebellion. In 1680, he led a well-organized uprising against
the Spanish that involved some 17,000 people from villages
all over New Mexico. The triumphant fighters destroyed
Spanish churches, executed priests, and drove the Spaniards
back into New Spain. The heathen, one Spanish officer
wrote about the uprising, have concealed a mortal hatred
for our holy faith and enmity for the Spanish nation. For
the next 14 yearsuntil Spanish armies regained control of
the areathe southwest region of the future United States
once again belonged to its original inhabitants. E
But Spain would never again have complete control of
the Americas. In 1588, England had defeated the Spanish
Armada, ending Spains naval dominance in the Atlantic. In
time, England began forging colonies along the eastern
shore of North America, thus extending its own empire in
the New World.

FRANCE

SPAIN

THE DEFEAT OF THE

SPANISH ARMADA
To stop English raids on his
treasure ships, King Philip II of
Spain assembled an armada, or
fleet, of about 130 ships, carrying nearly 19,000 soldiers. In the
summer of 1588, the Spanish
Armada sailed into the English
Channel. However, English
warships out-maneuvered the
vessels, bombarding them with
heavy, long-range cannons.
Aiding the English cannons
were powerful storms that
destroyed much of the Armada.
Its defeat dealt a blow to Spains
military power and opened the
way for the rest of Europe to venture into the Americas.

1. TERMS & NAMES For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance.
Hernndo Corts
conquistador

New Spain
mestizo

MAIN IDEA
2. TAKING NOTES
Re-create the web below on your
paper and fill in events related to
the main idea in the center.

Spain established
a profitable empire in
the Americas.

encomienda
Juan Ponce de Len

New Mexico
Pop

CRITICAL THINKING
3. EVALUATING IMPACT
Do you agree or disagree with this
statement: The Spanish conquest of
the Aztecs, which led to the creation
of Mexico, was neither a triumph nor
a defeat? Support your opinion with
references to the text.
Think About:
the actions of the conquistadors
the effects of disease on the
native peoples
the encomienda system
the mestizo population in
Mexico today

4. FORMING GENERALIZATIONS
State three main ideas about the
Spaniards exploration and
settlement north of Mexico and their
interaction with Native Americans
there.
5. MAKING INFERENCES
What can you infer from the fact
that approximately 17,000 Native
Americans from all over New Mexico
took part in Pops rebellion?

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